Captain's 2 goals power Wings past Ducks, 5-3
January 9, 2000

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT -- Steve Yzerman reaches career milestones so often any more that he doesn't really like talking about them. But his Detroit Red Wings teammates never tire of praising their captain.

Yzerman scored twice to move ahead of Bobby Hull for eighth place on the NHL career goal list as the Red Wings beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 5-3 Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Yzerman's goals give him 611, one more than Hull.

"Steve is one of the top players of all time," said teammate Igor Larionov, who had two assists. "It's nice to see him keep going strong. He's not slipping."

Yzerman, who along with linemate Brendan Shanahan was named a starter Saturday for the North American team in the NHL All-Star Game, has three goals in his last two games. His goal in a 5-2 win Thursday over Nashville moved him past former teammate Dino Ciccarelli on the career list before he overtook Hull.

"There's a bunch of guys grouped together around 600," Yzerman said. "You hear some of the names and they're some of the best guys to ever play. It's a thrill to have your name among them.

"I grew up watching Bobby Hull, but some of the others I don't remember. I don't necessarily equate points as playing well. There's still a lot of things to do as a team."

Linemate Pat Verbeek, who scored his sixth goal in seven games, says Yzerman's leadership rubs off everyone else.

"His work habits off the ice translate into great things on the ice," Verbeek said. "He's always been a gifted hockey player, and nothing's changed. What he does on the ice speaks for itself."

Yzerman's next target is Mario Lemieux's 613 goals.

"I hope he plays a lot longer so he can pass a lot more guys," Larionov said."

Chris Osgood earned his first win since Nov. 24 and Martin Lapointe and Nicklas Lidstrom, named a starter for the World team in the All-Star Game, also scored for the Red Wings.

Detroit took its second straight victory after a three-game winless streak.

Mike LeClerc, Paul Kariya and Stu Grimson scored Anaheim's goals as the Mighty Ducks had their winless streak extended to six games (0-5-1).

"We need to regroup and get back together as a team," Ducks coach Craig Hartsburg said. "This is a team still learning, and we've taken a few steps backwards."

The Ducks, who wasted a four-goal lead in a tie Friday at Carolina, have been outscored 26-14 during the stretch.

"Three games in four nights is tough, but I'm not looking for excuses," Hartsburg said. "We didn't handle it (Friday) real well. It cost us a point and we should've come in here on a positive note."

Yzerman put Detroit ahead 3:30 into the third period with a power-play shot through traffic from between the circles.

After Lidstrom made it 4-2 with a short-handed goal, Yzerman scored again from point-blank range with four minutes left.

Yzerman's first goal came 1:09 after Kariya's short-handed tally made it 2-2.

"Pucks are going in right now," Yzerman said. "Pat and Brendan are going in and digging out pucks and giving us a lot of opportunities."

Osgood, who lost his first two starts after missing 15 games with a broken left hand, made 26 saves. His 12th win broke a tie with backup Ken Wregget for the team lead.

Guy Hebert made 25 saves for Anaheim.

Verbeek gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 51 seconds in, with his sixth goal in seven games, when his shot off a centering pass from Shanahan glanced off Hebert's right arm and into the net.

The Ducks got even with 37 seconds left in the first when LeClerc put Marty McInnis' rebound past Osgood.

Lapointe took a behind-the-net pass from Igor Larionov in the slot and put it in the short side at 6:31 of the second.